2012-2013 School Year Celebration Includes New Publishing, Apps, Live Classroom Event, Birthday Card Campaign, National Sweepstakes, Broadcast Event, New Products, and Promotional Partners

Scholastic Media, a division of Scholastic Inc., the global children’s publishing, education and media company, announced that it will kick off the 50th anniversary celebration of Clifford the Big Red Dog on September 24th– in conjunction with the publication of Norman Bridwell’s Clifford Collection and the “Biggest Birthday Party Ever” at Scholastic headquarters in New York City, a live event that will be streamed to classrooms nationwide.

The campaign will span the school year and include the launch of new publishing, a birthday card campaign, and a national sweepstakes leading up to Clifford’s official birthday on February 14. Since the first Clifford book was published in 1963, the property has expanded to include 126 million books in print and an Emmy Award-winning television series, currently in its twelfth consecutive season on PBS Kids in the U.S.; the show has been sold to 30 countries in 12 languages worldwide.

Highlights of the Clifford 50th Anniversary year include:

“Biggest Birthday Party Ever” Kick Off Event/Live Classroom WebcastOn September 24 at 10:00 a.m., Scholastic will host Clifford’s Biggest Birthday Party Ever—a live celebration at Scholastic’s New York City headquarters and webcast to classrooms nationwide. Hundreds of children will gather to sing Happy Birthday to Clifford, and Norman Bridwell will be on hand for a big reveal on the façade of the company’s SoHo building.

New Products

Buffalo Games will develop adult and family board games and card games based on the National Geographic Channel series, Brain Games. The Joester Loria Group served as the exclusive licensing agency behind the deal. The initial product offering will require that players complete a series of challenges and experiments intended to test all aspects of [...]

Two familiar faces from the Marvel Universe—one friendly, the other slightly less so—make their way into Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes (2.0 Edition) today. Fans will be able to purchase figures for Falcon and Loki, who join a variety of Marvel super heroes, Disney fan favorites, and more to create all-new adventures.

LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin is available now from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, and The Lego Group. Available in all major retail stores across North America for the Nintendo 3DS and the PlayStation Vita, the game is based on the LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu TV series.

In anticipation of the new movie, Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, Funko is will be re-releasing previously vaulted Star Wars Pop! until the film arrives in theaters on December 18. The re-released Pop! will come in special edition packaging that distinguishes them from the original items. Available in stores this April, Greedo is [...]

Playability Toys has officially launched Pigsy, an educational gaming app that teaches basic financial literacy. Later versions will include unique personalization features intended to make learning engaging and fun.